Son charged after R.I. couple's bodies found

LINCOLN, R.I. — Authorities charged a man Sunday with killing his parents with a garden hoe and burying their bodies in their backyard cesspool.

ERIC TUCKER

LINCOLN, R.I. — Authorities charged a man Sunday with killing his parents with a garden hoe and burying their bodies in their backyard cesspool.

James A. Soares, 24, of Warren, was not required to enter a plea when prosecutors arraigned him at the state police barracks in Lincoln on two counts of murder in the deaths of 60-year-old James A. Soares Sr. and 53-year-old Marian Soares.

He was being held overnight at the state prison and was to be formally arraigned in District Court in Providence today. A police spokesman said it was not immediately clear if the suspect had a lawyer.

Police would not comment on a motive, but say they believe Soares attacked and killed his parents on July 9 with a heavy digging tool known as a grub hoe and then dragged their bodies into an in-ground cesspool at the home in Warren, a small town southeast of Providence, where all three lived.

State Police Maj. Steven O'Donnell said the state medical examiner's office would have to determine whether the couple was already dead at the time their bodies were buried.

"It's incomprehensible to think that someone could kill someone that brought them into the world," O'Donnell said.

The couple had been reported missing on July 15 after they failed to attend a family reunion.

On Saturday, police used a backhoe to dig up the Soares' backyard on Baltimore Avenue and found the couple's bodies. O'Donnell said the grub hoe was found under the senior Soares' body.

Police said the younger Soares was the prime suspect early in the investigation, based on police interviews. He was taken into custody Friday.

Police would not comment on whether Soares confessed and said the investigation was continuing.

In 2002, the elder Soares pleaded guilty to a federal charge of being a felon in possession of firearms. He was sentenced to probation and home confinement.